The 50 Spot: Eight Votes in New Mexico

Eight votes could have changed the fate of gay rights legislation in New Mexico last night.  As it stands, gay and lesbian couples in New Mexico will still not receive many of the same civil benefits offered to heterosexual couples.  More below in the 50 spot, and we're also hitting up Michigan and New York.

New Mexico:  The New Mexico State Senate voted 25-17 to vote down legislation that would have given gay and lesbian couples limited domestic partnership rights in the state.  The vote, a major setback for LGBT rights in the state, was likely the result of an intense lobbying effort by radical religious groups in the state, as well as the New Mexico Catholic Church (the Church had largely remained silent regarding domestic partnerships in New Mexico in previous years, but this year became much more vocal).  According to the New Mexico Independent, the 8-vote margin was much larger than LGBT rights supporters were hoping to see.  Why is that?  Well, according to gay rights lobbyist Linda Siegle, "I think religious organizations convinced people that this was marriage, when it was not even close to marriage." (New Mexico Independent)  So there you have it...the new tool in the arsenal of anti-gay forces?  Call everything marriage, even if it's not remotely close.

Michigan: On the bright side of state politics news, the Michigan Democratic LGBT and Allies Caucus (an off-shoot of the Michigan Democratic Party) pushed through two gay rights initiatives that have now become official planks of Michigan Democrats.  The first position says that Michigan Democrats will support increasing transgender rights in the state.  The second says that Michigan Democrats won't support any Michigan State Bullying Prevention legislation that does not include clear language for the protection of LGBT youth.  Ah, we love stories that show the nitty-gritty details of political organizing.

New York: According to the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, there's increased optimism that same-sex marriage equality will become law in the Empire State.  The only question is when.  As Alan Van Capelle of the Empire State Pride Agenda told the paper, "An election of the Democratic majority in the Senate was not a guarantee that marriage equality would be law in 2009.  It was the starting line, not the finishing line."  State Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith has recently been coy on whether he'll bring forward legislation to recognize same-sex marriages in New York.  Earlier this year he seemed to downplay any efforts to recognize marriage equality in the state.  But now activists think there may be a window of opportunity once legislators deal with state budget issues.  But whether it happens this year, next year or in two years, we agree that same-sex marriage in New York is inevitable.  It's a question of when, not if.